Eli Whitney the Father of American Technology
Eli Whitney has been deemed the "father of American technology," for two innovations: the cotton gin, and the idea of using interchangeable parts. Whitney was born in Westboro, Massachusetts on December 8, 1765 and died on January 8, 1825 in New Haven Connecticut. Though he is best remembered for inventing the cotton gin, his most important contribution was the development of mass production and interchangeable parts.
Whitney entered Yale College in May of 1789. There he learned many of the new concepts and experiments in science and the applied arts, as technology was then called. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in the fall of 1792. Whitney was disappointed twice in promised teaching posts. The second offer was in Georgia, where, stranded without employment, short of cash, and far from home be was befriended by Catharine Greene, widow of the Revolutionary War general. It was at this time that Whitney met and befriended. Phineas Miller, manager of Greene's plantation Mulberry Grove. Like Whitney Greene was Yale educated and born in New England (Mirsky).
Cotton Gin
By April of 1793, Whitney had designed and constructed the cotton gin, a machine that automated the separation of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fiber. This invention revolutionized the cotton industry in the United States. Previous to this innovation, farming cotton required hundreds of man-hours to separate the cottonseed from the...
As a result, Whitney spent many years and significant sums in dozens of lawsuits over infringement of his patented device, without ever realizing any significant recovery of lost profits (Lakwete 2004). The Larger Impact of a Simple Technological Invention: Whitney's cotton gin resulted in an economic boon unparalleled previously in the southern states at a time when cotton could otherwise have been phased out as a profitable crop except in coastal
Trace the events that led up to the War of 1812 and be very specific in describing those events. Chapter 7 begins with background review of how (in the late 18th century) the young nation began to be concerned with education. Medicine, too, was beginning to actually define diseases and help heal people, and Americans were inventing technologies (like the cotton gin by Eli Whitney) including Whitney's machine "…to make each
JIT Management Eli Whitney developed the interchangeable parts system when accepting a contract to manufacture muskets for the U.S. Army in 1799 (A Brief History of (Just-In) Time). Over the next 100 years, large scale processes held focus while manufacturers focused on individual technologies. The system of engineering drawing developed and modern tools were perfected during this time. In the late 1890s, Fredrick W. Taylor created "Scientific Management" by observing workers and
American History 1600-1877 In the period from 1600 to 1877, it could be argued that the United States was only basically establishing itself as an independent nation in its own right -- the period in question builds up to the climax of the Civil War, in which the contradictions inherent in the national identity would finally reach armed conflict. Who, then, could be nominated as the best of the American enterprise
Even "Porter Alexander, Lee's ordnance chief and one of the most perceptive contemporary observers of Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, called his decision to stand at Antietam 'the greatest military blunder that Gen. Lee ever made'" (Owens 2004). Historians are divided as to the real purpose behind the Maryland campaign, which seems like an "isolated maneuver, another manifestation of Lee's innate aggressiveness as a commander. Some have
Industrial Revolution in America Countless historical events and cultural impacts have influenced the future of the American culture and society since the period of the Industrial Revolution. Drastic changes were brought to men, transforming their ways of life into convenience and improvement through the advance discoveries of the geniuses of the past and the revolution of diverse industries. Without the era of the industrial revolution, our lifestyles today, in terms of
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now